Saturday, April 21, 2012

I fell in love yesterday... I looked across the room and there he was, long, slender, and just the right age. I knew that I could ride him for miles. Yes, it was love at first sight...

His name was Schwinn and he was beautiful. He was red, vintage, had a bell, and even a license plate under the seat. And I wanted him SO BADLY. I have a tendency for giving names and genders to inadimate objects and this beautiful bicycle was everything I had been looking for. But I was too late, someone was taking him across the parking lot right as Beau and I were leaving Goodwill yesterday. I felt a little part of my heart cry out. "Goodbye, I never knew you, but I will always love you..."

I really need to check out Goodwill more often. But I did score a sweet pair of black peep toe heels for $5!!!!
We finally get a beautiful day here in the north country and I have the stomach flu. The weeds are starting to look like Audrey 2 (if you have seen Little Shop Of Horrors you know what I am talking about, if you haven't you need to watch it) and wishing it were warmer and that I had the energy to get the million things done that need to be done today. I don't even have energy to pay the bills...

Thursday, April 19, 2012

I like to pride myself on trying super duper hard to eat healthy and stay in shape. But there are just some things that I can't stay away from and when my friend showed me this recipe she had found on pinterest (thanks a LOT Jenna...) well...I was a lost cause.

I had this link up for a good two, almost three weeks. Every day I would return to it and look at it and think how amazing it must taste but I was dragging my feet. It looked complicated and lets face it, its a carb packed dish.

Let me explain. I love all things pasta and pretty much all things potatoes. (Oh and bread too). And this past weekend my mother in law made her famous potatoes and since I didn't take the time to enjoy them at our wedding I felt the need to indulge. I indulged. And then I went back for a second helping of indulgence. And then a third time. OK, so I wasn't HEAPING it on or anything, I was putting a scoop at a time in a small coffee cup but still... (don't judge you know you have a tasty treat you just can't leave alone).

I have been disgusted with my body lately and absolutely heart broken over the ZERO progress I have made in the attempt to lose 10 pounds by summer. We've been hitting the gym hard and the first couple weeks I felt a huge change but its time to mix it up. So I guess its time for some serious dieting.

I am fortunate in this little endeavor because the hubs wants to start dieting as well. He is a picky eater. One of the pickiest men I know when it comes to food and he too loves his potatoes and pasta. So what the heck is a wife striving for domestic excellence suppose to do?

Make amazing mac and cheese...duh...

Chicken, Bacon, Ranch, Mac and Cheese

Here is what you need:

8 ounces of uncooked macaroni

3 slices of bacon

8 ounces of chicken (cubed, or whatever)

1 Tbsp of butter

1 Tbsp of flour

1 cup of milk

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

Shredded Italian blend cheese

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dill

1/2 cup mozzarella

1) cook pasta

2) while pasta is boiling brown bacon til crisp and set aside

3) mutilate the bacon

4) throw the chicken cubes in bacon fat to cook

5) melt butter and sprinkle in flour continually stirring with a whisk

6) whisk in milk and soup

7) poor over macaroni in a casserole dish

8) stir in chicken, bacon, and cheeses

9) bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

I of course made this in a way that didn't follow the original recipe, but I like to take short cuts where I can find 'em. I do feel though that this way is much less complicated. And even though this recipe doesn't exactly scream healthy...you're going to love it, I PROMISE!

In an unrelated story the hubs and I were at the grocery store yesterday and we strolled down the lady products aisle. There was a lady standing there debating which cork would suit her body best and I though to myself how absolutely liberated I have been for the past, almost two years now. Due to BC and an IUD (I have to double up because of some lady issues) I have had only brief, hour long visits from Aunt Flo and even those visits are few and very far between. Somehow I still manage to feel the side effects from her though. At least lately. You know how when someone comes over and even if they linger a short while, you can still smell their perfume after they leave? Nasty old granny perfume...well that's me and PMS. Lately I have just been a turbulent sea of emotion and that diet that I have been trying to stick to? What women adheres to that really when the "red monster" is in town? I think about how I must seem to the hubs when I am tearing through the house getting irritated at the most ridiculous and inconsequential things. That man...that man... I shake my head in disbelief at how crazy I must look and how patient he is with me. *sigh* Oh and not to mention how I completely and totally lost it yesterday when I watched a video of this couple telling the 'rents they were preggo? Yea, I am just glad the hubs wasn't around for THAT one...

So to all my bloggy friends out there who are being visited by that oh so unwelcome monthly visitor, my hat goes off to you for keeping your shit together...

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Hello to all my friends out there! Sorry I have been gone for so long!

Things have been a little crazy up in here lately. A couple posts back I had written about how I just wasn't sure where life was leading me. Don't get me wrong, Menards was a total blessing and we were in need of the pay check, but it was one of those places where the work atmosphere was emotionally challenging on a daily basis. Never had I ever been so disrespected and made to feel like I was completely and totally...unwanted.

I had really let that get to me and somewhere I had lost the faith that the Lord was going to provide something different. Well, I finally just found it in my hear to give it over and the next day someone went through my line. He worked at the hospital I was trying to get on at, and in conversation I had mentioned that I had been trying to get a job there for months. Things just snowballed from there and last Thursday I had an interview for a receptionist position! PRAISE THE LORD. She wanted me to start the next day! So next week I am starting my new job and I am officially done with Menards!

Just some quick things that I wanted to share with you all...

Last weekend we stayed with the hubs side of the family. Almost everyone was there. His sister and brother had just moved back from the east coast and its so great to have the whole family close again. There was a big storm, which I LOVE. I love thunderstorms! My sister in law in ALL baby right now and its just amazing to see. The nieces and nephews are growing like weeds...

Weeds... they are completely taking over the flower beds and I am in serious need of some garden gloves since most of those boogers are thistles...yikes!
With this whole week that I have off I've compiled a list of things that need to get done around the house. I am a list maker and I am convinced it is the only way I can make myself get things done.

I also have a couple recipes to share with you all! I should have a disclaimer...recipes posted here are not always the best thing for you, but they are tasty. So accompany any recipe here with a good amount of exercise...

Exercise...yes that is something I have been dreading and I am disheartened by the scale at the gym. I am certain its broken.

Now here are the recipes...

Delicious Cream Cheese Corn

Here is what you need:

1 lb of corn

1 Tbsp of butter

3 oz of cream cheese

Red pepper flakes

Pepper

1) combine corn, butter and cream cheese in a medium saucepan

2) once it is all melted together, throw in the drained corn

3) season with red pepper flakes and enjoy

I did it a little differently...

Once everything is mixed together, I also stirred in some chili powder. I then covered it with cheddar cheese and threw it in the 350 degree oven until the cheese was all melted!

We had a whole ham left over from Easter and I was at a loss with the left overs. I had seen a recipe for scalloped potatoes on pinterest and decided to add ham to it!

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Here is what you need:

1 C sour cream

1 can of condensed cream of potato soup

2 lbs of small red potatoes

1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp of paprika

3 Tbsp of fresh chopped chives

1) spray crock pot with butter spray (* I learned the hard way that his is a MUST)

2) slice potatoes

3) mix sour cream and soup together and spread on layer of potatoes

4) repeat potato layer and mixture

5) sprinkle paprika, cheese, and chives on top

6) put in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3.5-4.5 hours

* I also chopped some green onions and picnic ham and mixed them in with the potatoes...

And for dessert...

1-2-3 Cake

Here is what you need:

1 box of angel food cake mix

1 box of cake mix (any kind)

1) mix the two mixes together

2) put three Tbsp of mix in a coffee mug

3) add two Tbsp of water

4) microwave for 1 minute

TA-DA!!!!

And to top off this post, I just have to say that summer is definitely on its way...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Lately I have been struggling with a great deal of things involving work. I won't get into a lot of details, but it has gotten me down. Last week was terrible. But God is good and He has really lifted me this week.

Today I came home and since the hubs has call and won't be home til late, I decided to take a hot bath and have some devotional time. One thing that has been heavy on my heart lately has been school. I still feel at times that I am stuck. Stuck in neutral. I have all these things I WANT to do, but don't actually have the confirmation from God what HE wants me to do. I have big dreams to be an architect, and I pray that the Lord makes it really clear to me if that is the path He wants me to take or not. But its because of the neutral feeling, feeling inadequate in a sense that I feel...blah...

But an amazing thing happened as I was listening to pandora and just being with the Lord...this somg came on. Its called "Beautiful" by Mercy Me. It truly spoke to my heart tonight.

I know as women it is easy for us to feel inadequate when we have so much on our plates. Work, school, a family (and sometimes all three of those things at once) and because we're women and its our nature to nuture I think its easy for us to feel like we are falling short when we don't get all the laundry done before work or if dinner isn't ready by a certain time, or if the kids are a little late for practice, or when our husband wants to love on us and he gets the big ole "Im tired..."

But we are BEAUTIFUL ladies. God thinks that of us. From the tips of our toes to the top of our heads.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter is one of my most favorite holidays. I love hiding little treats for the nieces and nephews, being surrounded by family, and hearing the good news at church. But the most precious thing about this day is the fact that this is the day Jesus LIVES!

AMEN!

It isn't very often that I am not a little teary eyed when sitting in church. Its such a sacred, safe, and warm place to be. The Lord is all about you and you can just feel his presence in a way that can't be described. It's absolutely overwhelming for me.

He is here with us. He is in the air we breathe, the beautiful colors we see in the landscape around us. He is in the hugs and smiles of those we love, and even in complete strangers. I have seen the Lord work first hand in so many things in my life but there is one instance that I have to share with everyone I meet. It still blows me away thinking about it...

When Beau and I were living in New York some friends of ours came to visit us for the weekend. We had all these things we wanted to do and one of the things we wanted to do led us to Brooklyn. After some delicious pizza and roaming around it started to get dark and we decided we should catch the subway and head back to our apartment in Queens. In all our walking around, we had gotten completely and totally lost and ended up in a not so nice part of Brooklyn looking for the subway. Where the guys were calm and trying to lead us girls to where they thought was the direction of the subway, us girls we're starting to get very cold, very tired, and very...scared. Just then, when I thought for sure we were going to have to hail a cab and pay for a very expensive cab ride over to the next borough, a man dressed in all white, singing, and carrying a bible turned the corner and asked us if we needed help. There was something about this man that was so peaceful. Its almost as if, instead of the dark of the evening, he saw bright and brilliant sunlight. It was almost as if he was delighting in something we could not see. It was incredible. He led us to the subway and then was gone. I truly believe he was angel sent to us from our Father to get us home safely.

This past week has been a challenging one for me. I began my new job and even though I am so thankful for the income, it isn't what I hoped it would be. It put me in such a terrible mood all week and I couldn't WAIT til Friday to roll around. My heart has been heavy all week, but I think its because I wasn't handing it over to the Lord. I just need to have faith that He will provide me with the perfect job when the time is right and in the meantime, He probably has me working there for a reason. Today in church we talked about being a "contagious Christian". Hmmm. Maybe this is my chance.

I apologize to all my friends out there. I am so far behind on blogging and following my friends in their lives. I hope this coming week I will get the chance to catch up on you all!

I hope you have all had a blessed Easter and that you have felt the Lord all about you. This truly is a day to celebrate. Thank you Jesus!

The Midwest Wife...

My husband and I have been together since freshman year of college. I can't believe its been almost 7 years since I fell in love with my best friend. Now we're married and starting out on our next adventure!